It had been a full week since Raditz had lost to his brother. He checked his scouter.. '1750… I gained two hundred and fifty points of battle power in a single fi-.. Loss…' He thought bitterly to himself. 'I should be overjoyed..' Currently he was looking over the edge of the lookout at the clouds far below.

He was strong.. He knew he was. He could jump from this height and survive, albeit very uncomfortably. He was a proud Saiyan warrior who had conquered over a dozen planets while employed as a space pirate under Lord Frieza. He traveled with the prince of Saiyans and the commander of his army, Nappa. He was important.

So why did he feel so insignificant now..? He looked down at a shaking, upward facing palm. His fingerless bracers needed repaired so for now his arms were bare. How had he lost that battle?.. He replayed it over and over again in his head and he just couldn't figure it out. Victory was within his reach. One solid hit away. He came to the conclusion that there must have been more to this planet and it's people than originally meets the eye if his brother could become so strong amongst such weaklings.

"Kakarot.." Raditz growled out, clenching his fist.

On one hand he couldn't deny that deep down inside he felt a huge amount of pride for his brother, whom he had not seen since Raditz was a little older than Gohan was now. On the same token what did they say about him? The brother who was older and more experienced and had been traveling with the strongest warriors in the cosmos? He felt ashamed.

But moreover… How would Bardock feel about it?

His only hope was to suffer through their ridiculous customs for now and hope that he could find the secret to their inner strength so that he may take it for his own. And then he would be the strongest. And then he would make Kakarot pay.

And then his father would be proud…

An evil grin spread across the man's face.

*With Kakarot and Co at the center of the lookout.*

Kakarot was standing before his gathered party of Z-warriors once more. "Alright everybody, we've come a long way in the last week and I think we're ready to take our training to the next level and move on from the basics. From now on we're going to push our bodies and minds to the limit."

At this several of the Z warriors groaned and Yamcha stepped forward. "Hey wait a minute, isn't that what we've been doing?.." when he didn't receive an answer he continued, "You guys?" He asked desperately, looking back and forth between Goku and the others. None of them would meet his gaze but Goku.

The Saiyan smiled apologetically and chuckled. 'Fraid not, Yamcha. We've only just begun compared to what we've got in store for the next year and I have a feeling it's only going to get tougher and tougher after that." He said sincerely.

Kakarot felt horrible for his friends, most of whom were looking down and dejected. "I'm really sorry guys but you gotta remember.. We have to protect our home. If we don't, who will? That's what it means to be a hero. And there's no other group of people I'd rather have by my side than all of you. I know we can do this." He finished confidently.

Krillin nodded in assent. "We know Goku, and we'll follow you anywhere. It's just that.. I mean come on, other than you and your brother and Piccolo maybe what chance do the rest of us even have? You said those other saiyans are ten times stronger than your brother? I can't even fathom facing such a powerful opponent…" He said looking down at his hands.

Tien stepped forward after that. "Not only that but they still have their tails and you know better than anyone what that means Goku. Yet even with all that power they don't feel like they can take on this frieza character? Something about that doesn't sit right with me.. It might take an entire army to bring him down, if it's even possible."

Kakarot nodded and crossed his arms. "I completely understand where you guys are coming from. I hear your concerns, really I do. But I honestly believe you're all selling yourselves really short! Anyways.. the bottom line is.. if we can't win it won't matter anyways."

A heavy, awkward silence blanketed the air for several seconds. It probably would have continued on for some time if not for Chi Chi cutting through the depressing atmosphere with a fiery annoyance. "That's your pep talk!? Jesus, really Goku?" She huffed. She turned to Bulma and put a hand on her hips. "Bulma, come get your mans, he's acting like a damn fool again." She said with a shake of her head.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

The blue haired woman scratched the back of her head and laughed nervously. "Bahaha that's my Kakarot! Absolutely no filter… So sorry." She mumbled the last part apologetically

Suddenly Kakarot's stomach grumbled with the force of an earthquake and he went deathly pale. "Before we do anything else… Can we please eat? I'm starving!" He pleaded while clutching his stomach. The group laughed at their friend's simple, never changing ways.

After supper Kakarot walked up to his wife and gave her a peck on the cheek before reaching down and ruffling Gohan's hat. This solicited a giggle from the young boy as he removed the now lopsided cap from his eye and fixed his messy clothes.

"Well hunny, what do you think? Are you ready to build another room on to the house? We'll need a lot bigger gravity chamber than the one we've got at home if it's going to accommodate all of us." He said matter of factly. Bulma quirked her brow and smirked.

"Are you serious? You know I've been wanting to renovate and expand onto capsule Corp. And dad has been blowing up my phone trying to come up with any number of excuses to work on new projects together. I bet I can even get Dr. Gero to help improve upon some of the training equipment. Honestly, just say the word dear husband." She finished with a hand on her hip and a challenging grin.

Kakarot stood on his toes and laughed nervously, feeling quite a bit intimidated by his overly enthusiastic wife. "Hehehe! Just don't go too overboard, Bulma!" He said scratching the back of his head. As husband and wife ended their playful interaction Gohan crashed into his father's ribs like a speeding bullet. "Daddyyy! Play with me!" He squared in delight.

"Mmph!" The saiyan sucked in a breath as the air was forcefully ejected from his lungs and he caught his son. Hoisting him up on one arm, Kakarot beamed proudly. "Gosh you gotta be careful Gohan. You have no idea how strong you really are. You could hurt someone you know?" Gohan nodded shamefully and apologized.

Kakarot hugged his son. "Hey don't worry about it buddy, I know you're just excited. Let's play!" He cheered in response. Of course 'playing' for the two male saiyans actually meant sparring with one another, with Goku mostly taking the defensive while instructing his son, but that was enough.

It would take Bulma a couple of days to finish construction on the new sector of their home and conveniently it just so happened to be Friday so Kakarot and his gang decided to take the weekend off to rest and relax, enjoying one another's company and occasionally lending a hand with renovations.

Well.. most of the gang anyways. Piccolo remained hard at work meditating in the mountains saying he would rather acquire strength then sit around and waste his time.

Raditz held much of the same point of view while simultaneously being driven in secret by his burning desire for revenge against his younger brother. He was certain that the younger saiyan was having the time of his life gloating about his victory and believing himself to be superior. But not for long. He would train so hard no one would ever be able to defeat him again..

'That's right Kakarot slack off all you want.. The next time we fight I will show you the true might of a Saiyan warrior..'

Saturday afternoon, Capsule Corp courtyard.

"Get your filthy hands off my ass you pervert!"

*SMACK!*

The sound of an open hand meeting the face of Master Roshi echoed throughout the courtyard.

A moment later Bulma could be seen stomping furiously away from a crater containing the Turtle Hermit teacher. He had a dazed expression, a stream of blood gushing from his nose, and a massive handprint on the side of his face. Goku winced. 'I do not envy him..' the Saiyan thought.

Beside him his best friend Krillin facepalmed. "Oh no Master Roshi not again." He said in an exasperated manner. "When will he ever learn?" He wondered while shaking his head. The monk then turned to his alien and asked, "Hey so like.. does that kind of stuff ever bother you? Master Roshi creeping on Bulma I mean?" He asked with a curious apprehension.

Goku laughed and merely shrugged in response. "Not at all Krillin. Bulma's a strong woman and she can take care of herself." The two of them looked at the crater and Krillim sweat dropped. ".. Yeah.. No kidding." He chuckled.

Goku put his hands on his hips and said, "Besides.. Master Roshi's getting up there in the years. If he wants to go off and get himself killed doing something like that it's not my place to stop him, ahahaha hehe haaa." The muscular Saiyan laughed while clutching his sides. Krillin couldn't help but share in his most trusted friend's amusement and began laughing as well.

Not too much time later, Kakarot and his son, Gohan, were sitting cross-legged in front of Capsule Corp's private pond. The pond was large by any standard of measure and contained a large variety of fish. From the center of the water a fountain shot upward into the air for several feet. The whole area had an unnaturally clean and attractive fragrance.

"Now remember Gohan.." Kakarot began. "The key is to feel the Ki energy that connects all living things. No pun intended." The four year old boy giggled and nodded. He tried to do exactly as his father asked of him. He shut his eyes tightly and thought really hard.

"Relax Gohan.. Remember sensing energy isn't about forcing something to happen like making a ki blast. It's the complete opposite. You have to clear your mind and feel the world around you. Don't resist it. Flow with it." The boy's father gently instructed.

Gohan took a deep breath and placed his palms flat on the dirt. He tried to relax and clear his mind as best as he could. He knew how to use his own Ki, he knew how it felt so it wasn't like he was completely inexperienced when it came to how energy should look or feel.. his fingertips buzzed, or maybe it was the dirt and grass around him? He began to get excited when… just as suddenly as it came, it was gone.

The boy deflated like a balloon and looked down in shame. Kakarot quickly leapt to his son's emotional defense. "Hey buddy! Don't worry you're almost there. It took me years to learn ki control and I still learn new things every day! Mastering all of the rest of your senses will be a big help when it comes down to taking that final step. Trust me you'll get it down in no time."

Gohan looked up at his smiling father. He knew he would never lie to him. His father was his hero.. but even still..

"You promise?" He asked with a sniffle. Goku laughed and patted his son on the back. "I pinky promise even! You're waaaay stronger than I was at your age Gohan. If you work hard you can become the strongest out of all of us."

Gohan looked to be in deep thought for several seconds before deciding he wanted to make a confession. "I… I don't want to hurt people, Dad.. Even the bad ones." He said pleadingly. He was scared his dad would be disappointed with him but the man just gave him a kind and knowing smile.

"I understand, son. And that is why you are strongest. Because of your heart. But.. there may come a day when I'm not around to protect you and your mother and when that time comes.. You have to be ready, Gohan. I'm really sorry.. I wish I could protect you forever. But it's not always a matter of what we want. Although it hurts sometimes to do what's right we have to be steady and give up the things we want the most. Even our hopes and dreams." He hugged his son tightly and rubbed the small boy's head. He was truly… So proud.

Chapter 5 end.